Alumni Profile

Susanna K. Johnson

Degree:

Associate in Science degree in Liberal Arts with High Honors

Employed as:

Detective sergeant for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office

Susanna's Story

Although a member of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Kenmore, Washington for twenty years, Susanna Karlina Johnson found that her ability to continue to earn promotions and develop in new positions was hampered by her lack of a college degree.

After researching college options, Johnson found that Excelsior had the right combination of review and acceptance of previous college credit as well as flexible options for earning new credit. The combination of being able to take online classes and CLEP/DANTES exams kept her on a steady pace toward her degree.

Although earning an associate degree was her goal, she discovered an unexpected benefit—she was actually able to apply much of her weekly studies to her daily work. As a result of completing her degree, she was eligible to take the civil service test for a position as lieutenant, earning the top overall score, which will lead to a promotion to lieutenant as soon as an opening becomes available. Johnson’s future goal is to return to Excelsior for a bachelor’s degree so she can be eligible to take the promotional exam for captain.